Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga denied Friday that an ethics scandal involving a senior press official had anything to do with his decision not to hold a news conference that day when announcing the partial lifting of the coronavirus emergency.
Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Makiko Yamada, who moderates Suga's news conferences, came under fire after she was found to have been treated to a luxurious dinner in 2019 by the now-prime minister's eldest son.
While Suga skipped holding a formal news conference, as is usually done when declaring or lifting an emergency, he spoke to the media and took questions from reporters.